Game apparatus comprising upright board with through openings for cubical playing pieces



April 14, 1970 GAME APPARAT US OPENINGS FOR Filed G- P. TAILLIE COMPRISING UPRIGHT BOARD WITH 3,506,267 THROUGH CUBICAL PLAYING PIECES March 2 1967 ENTOR.

ATTO/P Y United States Patent US. Cl. 273-130 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A game apparatus comprising a playing board positioned upright between two playing stations and having a matrix of openings extending through the board between the two playing stations and a series of cube pieces having one of several indicia on each face in a predetermined arrangement which cubes are sized to fit into the openings in the playing board to form patterns of indicia in each playing station which are Visible only to that playing station, all cubes bearing the same indicia and each cube having one of three diiferent indicia on each face, opposing faces having different indicia.

This invention relates to vertical board games and in particular to board games of the type wherein players alternately position playing pieces in a matrix to form a chain or pattern.

Games utilizing playing boards generally fall into either the category of boards wherein moves made by opposing players are visible to both players, as for example a chess board, or the category of 'boards wherein moves made by players are not known to the opposing player, as for example vertical boards of the type shown in Patent No. 2,794,641. The present invention combines the features of both types of playing board games and has the added ability of providing the opposition with an indication of the players move or the basis for logical determination of the move. Also the present invention has the further feature of allowing a player to make a move which will either help or hinder the opposing player.

The game utilizes cubes which have an indicia on each face, there being one of three distinct indicia on each face and opposing faces having different indicia. When a player makes a move with one of the indicia one of the two remaining indicia become exposed to the opposing player. The opposing player cannot know for certain which indicia his opponent has played but he can be sure that one of the indicia has not been played and can reason after several moves which of the indicia has been played.

In games of chess or checker variety the complete playing board is visible to both players and in the board game wherein the moves are hidden there is some point in the game when the players moves are shown to his opponent. In the present game the plays are never exposed to the opponent except as he can reason from plays made in his playing area by his opponent.

It is an object of this invention to provide a game board and apparatus that can be used in various games of skill and chance in which a players moves are not seen by his opponent but which make a play in the opponents field of play.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a game board which extends upwardly between two playing stations to form a matrix which is adapted to receive cubes which expose different indicia to each playing station;

It is a further object of this invention to provide game playing cubes which fit into a matrix and have three different indicia, each appearing on two faces and arranged so that no two opposite faces have the same indicia and each indicia appears on a face opposite each of the other two indicia whereby the three sets of opposed cube faces display every combination of the different indicia.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a game in which two players form a pattern in a matrix board positioned upright between the players by inserting cubes into the matrix so that only one set of opposite faces of the cubes is visible, one face to each player, and the two visible faces having different indicia thereon.

These and other objects of this invention are attained by a playing board having a matrix open to two sides and adapted to receive cubes having special marking arranged on the cube faces.

For a better understanding of the invention as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is had to the following detailed description of the invention, to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the game playing board and cubes illustrating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic arrangement of a cube in an unfolded arrangement to show the location of the indicia upon each face.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the game board shown in FIG. 1.

The game playing board, shown generally as 10 in FIG. 1, represents the preferred embodiment of the type of board that may be used in the game described herein. The board may be constructed of heavy cardboard, plastic or any suitable material that is heavy enough to be self supporting. There are two playing stations indicated generally as A and B. The board 10 extends vertically up ward between the stations A and B and is supported by a pair of brace members 12. The board 10 contains a matrix of openings 16 which extend through the board and which are of a size sufiicient to receive playing cubes 14. One cube 14 is shown in the mounted position in the matrix and a second cube is shown in a position to be placed in the matrix.

The openings 16 which form the matrix are arranged diagonally as shown in FIG. 1 so that the adjacent vertical rows of openings differ in length by one opening. In the matrix shown herein there are 61 square openings. There are six rows having six squares vertically aligned and five rows having five squares vertically aligned and interspaced between the rows of six openings. Thus the six rows of six and the five rows of five give a total of 61 openings. There are likewise available 61 cubes 14 which may be placed in any manner in any one of the openings 16. When a cube 14 is placed in an opening 16 one face of the cube is visible to each of the players at stations A and B. Different size matrices may be used on different boards within the scope of the invention. For example an alternate and simpler version of the game may be used where the entire matrix is made up of rows of equal numbers of openings.

The cubes 14 are made of wood, plastic or any suitable material and are of a size sufficient to fit into the openings 16. Each face of the cubes contains a marking or color or some other recognizable indicia. There are three indicia, as shown herein, xs, Os, and squares; however, the indicia could be colors, such as red, blue, and yellow, or any other identifying indicia. The indicia are placed on the faces of the cubes in a manner such that the same indicia does not appear on opposing faces. Thus when an indicia appears to an opposing player he is aware that his opponent has played one of the two other indicia. The indicia are also arranged on the faces of other indicia. The indicia are also arranged on the faces of the cubes so that each indicia appears on two faces with each of the other two indicia appearing on an opposite face. Therefore, though the player knows that his opponent has not played the indicia which faces him he is not aware which of the other two indicia he has played. FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of the indicia in a cube which has been unfolded for purposes of explanation.

It is to be realized that this is the preferred embodiment of the invention and that by rearranging the indicia on the faces of the cube the skill required for the game may be changed. For example, as explained above, when the indicia are arranged on the faces of the cube so that the opposing player does not know which indicia has been played but does know that it is one of the two indicia which are not visible to him, then the game relies heavily on skill to determine what moves ones opponent is making. However, by rearranging the indicia on the faces of the cubes in a random manner so that the opponent would have no way of determining what indicia has been played the game assumes more of the element of chance rather than skill. As the number of such cubes with random arrangement of indicia increases the amount of chance involved in the game increases. Conversely, if there is a single combination of indicia for opposing faces, for example if the same indicia always appears on opposite faces, then each player will know what his opponent has played and the element of chance will be eliminated.

The object of the game is to arrange cubes having the same indicia exposed to a player in a pattern, such as, for example, a continuous chain from one side of the matrix of openings 16 to the other side. A chain is formed by arranging cubes adjacent to each other in edge to edge relationship as seen by the cubes with xs shown in FIG. 3. Thus, to win a player must have a cube in each row and in edge to edge relationship to the cube in each adjoining row. All cubes in the chain must have the same indicia exposed on the players side of the board. Each cube played by either player shows an indicia on both sides of the board 10, and the indicia thus shown may be utilized to form the chain. Thus a player may utilize his opponents moves to form his own chain. A player may also interfere with the formation of a chain by his opponent by playing one or more cubes with indicia showing which will interfere with or break the opponents chain. The first player to form a continuous chain on his side of the board wins the game.

To play the game the board is disposed vertically between two players at stations A and -B. Each player has a supply of cubes 14 and each alternately places a cube in one of the openings 16. A cube may be placed in any open matrix position with any indicia exposed to the player and either of the remaining indicia'the player desires facing his opponent. The play of a cube may be to advance a players own chain, or it may be to bar what the player believes to be the advance of his opponents chain, or it may merely be to confuse the opponent as to the indicia used to construct the chain.

The first player to form a continuous chain on his side of the board is declared the winner, whether or not he makes the final play. In the event a single play simultaneously completes chains on both sides of the board, the player making that play is declared the winner. If both players are effectively blocked from forming a continuous chain in any indicia, the game is declared a draw.

The board described herein may also be used for word games and games utilizing the formation of patterns other than continuous chains.

For example, by prior agreement the nature of play must be changed by each layer agreeing to play a single indicia on his side. Each player is then aware of both his and his opponents situation. Also there may devices and methods for each player to record what moves he believes his opponent has made or the moves that he has made on his opponents side of the board. Another possible variation of the game would be to construct the cubes with the indicia indicating three different generic classes.

4 For example, the faces of the cubes could contain names of writers, composers, and artists and the chain would have to be formed of one class. Thus, a player would draw a cube and have to apply knowledge to the selection of his indicia as well as the play on the board. For the more sophisticated players the cubes could have names of only one main class such as authors and have chains formed of sub-classes such as novelists, essayists, and the dramatists. Thus the game requires, or develops, a knowledge of the subject matter used. Any combination of word games in any field such as history, science, or government could be devised along these lines and the game can be changed merely by changing the set of cubes.

While the invention has been described with reference to the structure disclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set forth, and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the purposes of the improvements and the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A game apparatus comprising a series of cube shaped members having one of three indicia on each face, the indicia being arranged so that the same indicia does not appear on opposing faces and each indicia appears on a face opposite each of the other two indicia,

a playing board adapted to be supported in an upright position between two playing stations and having a matrix of openings extending through the board to form a field of play on each side of the board at the playing stations,

the size of the openings being large enough to receive the cube shaped members and the thickness of the board being substantially the same as the size of the cube shaped members whereby only the indicia on one face of cubes placed in the openings is visible in each field of play, and

the matrix of openings being arranged so that cubes placed in the openings can form chains and patterns of indicia in each playing field,

and, means to support the playing board in an upright position between two playing stations.

2. A game apparatus comprising a playing board adapted to be supported in an upright position between two playing stations and having a matrix of openings extending through the board to form a field of play at each playing station,

means to support the playing board in an upright position,

and cube shaped playing pieces adapted to fit the openings in the board and having indicia on each face thereof, whereby cubes in the board openings expose a set of opposite faces in each field of play,

the playing board being of a thickness suflicient to prevent viewing of the indicia on the unexposed faces of the playing pieces and the indicia on the faces of the playing pieces being of three types each appearing on two faces and arranged whereby no two opposite faces have the same indicia and each indicia appears on a face opposite each of the other two indicia.

3. The game apparatus of claim 2 wherein the openings in the playing board are squares arranged on edge in rows in which adjacent rows differ in length by one opening whereby playing pieces placed in openings in edge to edge relationship will form a zig-zag or diagonal pattern across the board.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,464,019 8/1923 Wenzel 273146 2,100,421 11/1937 Wupper 273 3,233,343 2/1966 Short 273146 X 3,427,028 2/1969 Abrahamsen 273 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

